Some nights, I wondered how I’d ever sleep again when she was gone.
But there was little point in worrying about that now. I remained tethered to the task at hand – that and the pretty, cheerily chattering woman in the back of the vehicle. At maximum speed, it took us less than a half a day to reach Darcy and Fallon’s ranch. Under a bright spray of spring sun, I landed in an empty area near the single-storey home. By the time I’d exited the vehicle, a large Zabrian male with orange hide, yellow hair, and a smile even bigger than Lualhati’s was striding eagerly towards me.
“Warden Hallum? Welcome!”
“Greetings, Fallon,” I said, heading around the back of the vehicle. Lualhati had already unlatched her door from the inside, and looked as if she were about to hop out. It was rather high off of the ground, and she was wearing those short boots of hers, which seemed to be only mildly more supportive versions of her tall ones.
“Wait.”
“For what?” she asked. When she tipped her face questioningly towards me, the sun slanted across her features, lighting up her eyes from the side. Green fire danced among the brown and gold.
“For me.”
I grasped her about the waist with both hands and lifted her down.
Soft.
Not once had I ever cared about soft. I’d made myself so hard. Or perhaps I hadn’t even made myself that way. Perhaps it was just the way I was meant to be, from the day that I was born. In a way, I demanded that same hardness from all others. I had many standards for those around me. They could be exacting.
Lualhati had become my most unexpected exception. I was not even bothered by all her things in my home now. Even when they spilled out of their carefully chosen places and seemed as if to march, like living invaders, throughout the previously-uncluttered spaces of the house.
When confronted with the walls of my rigidity, she did not try to scale them or knock them down. She seemed to just…melt right through them.
And it was thanks to all that softness.
By the blazes, it should not have felt so good.
Sheshould not have felt so good.
“Warden Hallum?” Fallon’s voice filtered through my consciousness. “I do believe the doctor is well and truly balanced upon her own feet now.”
“I am simply making sure,” I gritted out, releasing her.
“Forgive me,” Fallon said with a smiley sort of grimace, an expression I had not known before now was possible on a Zabrian face. “I am very eager to begin my wife’s appointment!”
“Of course you are!” Lualhati said kindly. “Lead the way, Fallon! I’m eager to meet her as well!”
We found Fallon’s wife, Darcy – a human woman with dark pink hair – resting in their bed.
“Don’t get up!” Lualhati insisted. “I’m coming to you!” She rounded the side of the bed, leaning down to give Darcy a hug.
“Thank God,” Darcy said with a muffled laugh. “I’m nowhere near full-term and I already find it hard to get my ass out of this bed.”
“You may keep your backside comfortable in that bed for as long as you need!” Fallon said. Darcy rolled her eyes, a human gesture that I found bizarre in the extreme, but she seemed secretly pleased with her husband’s attentions. He appeared a decent enough male, if overly effusive.
I stood out of the way while Lualhati began her examination, making note of things like Darcy’s temperature and heart rate. She also produced a small cup with a sensor on it, likely taken from the ambulance’s supplies.
“I need you to pee in this. It doesn’t have to be now. The sensors in the cup will transmit the data back to me even if I’m not here.”
“That might be tricky,” Darcy said. “I can barely get up and down off the outhouse seat as it is. Holding a cup down there is going to add a whole new layer of complication.”
“I will hold it for you, beloved wife!” Fallon said, thumping an earnest fist upon his bare chest.
“Fallon,” Darcy said flatly. “If you do that, there is about a 100% chance that I will pee on your fingers.”
“It would be an honour!” he proclaimed.
“Well, there you go then, Doc. Looks like I’ve got a urinary assistant. I’ll get that done later.”
